Growth demands more of firefighters and the public

Saturday

Jul 1, 2006 at 12:01 AMJul 3, 2006 at 11:33 AM

M. STUART MCELHANEYSpecial to the Star-Banner

Recently, hundreds of citizens have called the Municipal Service Taxing Unit (MSTU) department and Marion County Fire-Rescue (MCFR) following notices sent to all county property owners on June 15. These notices announced proposed increases to MCFR’s fire assessment and the July 6 public hearing.
As fire chief, I hope the following information will help citizens better understand the fire assessment and answer questions about how we spend taxpayer money, why the fee increases each year and why it’s crucial to improving fire-rescue services countywide.
The fire assessment is a non-ad valorem assessment based on benefit of service instead of property values. It distributes costs evenly so everyone pays for fire protection regardless of the size or value of their home — unlike property taxes in which larger, more expensive properties pay more than smaller, less-expensive properties.
County commissioners opted for an assessment to help pay for fire-rescue services vs. relying solely on property taxes because, after allowing for the $25,000 homestead exemption, some property owners pay little or no property taxes, which commissioners feel is unfair.
The proposed assessment is expected to generate $24 million in revenue (before exemptions). A large chunk of that money funds our firefighting budget and pays for firefighter salaries and benefits, training and education, as well as other items such as fire engines, equipment and other station expenses.
The fire assessment also helps fund MCFR’s 10-year plan, adopted in 2001. This plan called for hiring 250 additional firefighters and building several new fire stations by 2011. These improvements are funded with scheduled annual increases, spreading costs over time to prevent encumbering taxpayers all at once.
During the first five years of the plan, MCFR hired more than 100 additional firefighters; built new fire stations in 2005 in The Villages of Marion and along State Road 40 west; and relocated one station each in Anthony (formerly a volunteer station) and near Golden Ocala. We also started multiple fire station expansion and rebuilding projects in Rainbow Springs, Marion Oaks and Salt Springs.
Currently, we are refocusing the 10-year plan to address response time deficiencies in our urban areas. It is obvious when reviewing maps of current and projected population density that very large areas of urban growth will continue to expand and merge — such as Belleview, the State Road 200 and U.S. 441 corridors and large pockets in south Marion County. It’s also clear this urban growth is not just confined right around the city of Ocala.
To provide more timely and effective emergency response to these urban areas, more closely-spaced fire stations and additional firefighters are needed.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards for fire-rescue response in urban areas call for the first fire engine to arrive on scene with four firefighters within six minutes 90 percent of the time. While MCFR has outstanding, dedicated firefighters who provide a very high level of performance and skill, our current station distribution over our large county and staffing levels are more consistent with a rural level of service. In fact, in the large urban areas of Marion County, MCFR only meets the NFPA urban response standard about 30 percent of the time.
Many citizens, including those involved in high-profile emergencies, have repeatedly told commissioners this response time is unacceptable. However, we simply cannot build more fire stations and hire additional firefighters to improve response times without the 10-year plan and the assessment that helps pay for it.
Funds generated by the assessment and other revenue sources during the 2006-07 fiscal year will enable us to initiate the following proposed enhancements: hire 60 additional firefighters to increase staffing countywide;
rebuild and expand stations in Belleview and the SR 200 corridor to accommodate additional firefighters and emergency vehicles;
and build four new fire stations to benefit south Marion County, the SR 200 corridor and areas surrounding Ocala.
Upgrades made to just one fire station impact the entire fire-rescue system. When we respond to a residential structure fire, for example, we don’t just send one fire engine from one fire station. We send a minimum of three fire engines, staffed with four firefighters each, from the three closest fire stations, along with command staff and tanker trucks, if needed.
In other words, the more firefighters, fire stations and emergency vehicles we have, the more likely it will be that those firefighters are available to respond more quickly to an emergency involving you or your family.
We are very proud of our efforts so far. But capably serving one of the fastest-growing counties in Florida and our burgeoning population will require more hard work and continued support of the 10-year plan — and the fire assessment that helps pay for it.
Without it, MCFR cannot successfully minimize the devastating impact fires can have on this community or provide quicker response times citizens deserve and expect.
M. Stuart McElhaney is the chief of Marion County Fire-Rescue. You may reach him at (352) 291-8000 or stuart.mcelhaney@marioncountyfl.org.